Wangan Midnight

Wangan Midnight is a manga series created by Michiharu Kusunoki, of Shakotan Boogie and Sayonara December fame. It depicts highway racing and was first sold in 1993. Although the manga has not been translated into English, the series is well known in America thanks to the arcade racing game, Wangan Midnight, which was released in 2002. A PS2 version of Wangan Midnight was released later in the same year and neither version was translated into English (though the arcade machine has been found in many American arcades). Its sequel, Wangan Midnight Maximum Tune, was released in 2004. Another sequel, Wangan Midnight Maximum Tune 2, was released in 2005.

Story

The story gets its roots from the actual street racing that occurs on Tokyo's vast freeway system, one stretch of which is known as the "Wangan", literally meaning "bay side" (although it is generally used to refer to the freeway).

One day, Akio Asakura, a third year high school student, is driving his Nissan 300ZX (Z31) and is challenged by Tatsuya Shima, a doctor, in his black Porsche 911 (964) Turbo (nicknamed the "BlackBird"). With a friend in the passenger seat and two girls in the back, Akio pitifully tries to win, but is defeated. Determined to become faster, he goes to the junkyard to buy parts for his car, when he sees a pristine, unscratched blue Fairlady Z in the junkyard. Intrigued as to why such a machine is about to be junked to begin with, he buys it. He soon finds that the car is unnaturally fast due to a tuned 620PS L28 Twin Turbo engine, bored and stroked to 3.1 liters. He also finds that all of the car's previous owners have died in it. The manga follows Akio's various encounters, though the central plot revolves around his constant battle with the BlackBird for superiority.

Characters

• Akio Asakura is the main character of the manga. Drove a Nissan 300ZX (Z31) until he discovered the "Devil Z", a Nissan Fairlady Z (known as the Datsun 240Z in certain markets) which is supernaturally fast and extremely hard to drive. Regarded as a legend on the Wangan, though he is actually a humble young man.

• Tatsuya Shima is the main rival of Akio. He drives a heavily tuned Porsche 964 Turbo that is known as the "BlackBird" (depicted as a Nissan 350Z in the English version of the arcade racing games). Works as a doctor, which is somewhat ironic considering his hobby of illegal street racing.

• Reina Akikawa is a pop idol by day and a street racer by night. Her car is a Nissan Skyline GT-R R32 model. She finds Akio on the wangan and becomes obsessed with him and the Devil Z, driving her to tune her car and even steal the Devil Z.

• Jun Kitami Also known as the "Devil's Tuner", he is the one that tuned both the Devil Z and the BlackBird. Has a scar on his face, presumably from a past racing incident.

• Gen Sasaki (Gatchan) A much-maligned character in the manga. Drives a Toyota Celsior, which is regarded as a joke in both the arcade game and the manga. Runs a rag-tag tuning shop known as SpeedShop MACH.

• Tomoya is a young friend of Akio's who lives with a woman named Kyoko. He works for a tuning shop known as ACE, and he tries (unsuccessfully) to "fix up" Kyoko and his fellow mechanic, Gen Goto. He drives a Honda Integra Type-R but eventually switches to his tuning shop's project car, the "ACE32R", a modified Nissan Skyline GT-R R32. He is a timid, insecure character and after trying unsuccessfully to overtake the Devil Z and BlackBird for Wangan superiority, he feels "out of place" and moves away from Tokyo. Known for the quote "I'm a person who disappears..."